You Can Count On Me
by CarVie16
Summary: (Takes place during Descendants 2) While Mal meets up with Uma about Ben, Carlos sneaks out the castle and heads somewhere familiar. Evie follows him and finds him thinking about the past. Carlos wonders about their friendship and asks Evie why it happened. Evie tries to assure Carlos that he can always count on her to be there for him.


**Who says that I only write romantic Evie/Carlos stories? I may be a big-time Carvie shipper, but even I can understand that in the books and movies, they will always be friends, and I still love that. I just wish they would show more of it than what we've seen/read so far. That's why I wrote this story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To be honest, this is probably the story I most enjoyed writing among all my other stories so far.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please. I loved writing this so much and I would really appreciate some feedback.**

After Mal left her castle to meet Uma at Ursula's Fish and Chips Shot, her friends just chilled in her living room. Jay decided to take a nap, covering his face with his beanie. Evie was checking on some of Mal's clothing lying around. Carlos was sitting on the couch, trying to relax, but Jay's snoring was driving him nuts. He tried covering his ears, but it wasn't working either. He just makes an exasperated gesture and leans sinks on the couch.

Evie folds all of Mal's clothes and places them on her bed. She returns to the living room to see one person missing. It was Carlos. She can hear footsteps going down the stairs. She figures it must be him. She follows him, but tried to make sure he doesn't see her, just in case the reason for his departure is something big.

Along the way, Carlos accidentally bumps into a muscular pirate, probably someone from Captain Hook's crew. The pirate gets mad and glares at Carlos with anger. The boy looks up with fear and steps back. Evie was about to rush over and help him, until Carlos did something that amazed her and everyone watching.

Carlos slides in between the pirate's legs, steals his sword, kicks him in the back of his knee, and then points the blade at his neck. The pirate decided to leave the boy alone. Carlos looks at the sword in his hand for a moment before throwing it away. Evie sighed with relief, but also put on a look of awe, surprised by Carlos' bravery.

 _He really has gotten braver_ , she thought.

Evie continues following Carlos quietly. She sees him heading straight for Hell Hall, his old home. Evie begins to wonder why Carlos was going there. They didn't want their parents to see them, right? Instead of going through the front door, Carlos heads to the alley beside the house. Evie peers around the corner to see where he was going. He was heading for the backyard.

It became clear to Evie where he was going. He was going to his treehouse laboratory. She tip-toes through the alley and follows him to the treehouse. She sees him climbing up the rope ladder. Once he was inside, Evie starts climbing up.

When she made it to the top, she saw Carlos, just standing in the middle of his lab, staring at all of his chemicals and equipment.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it, Evie?" Carlos said all of a sudden.

Evie was startled. "Y-You knew...?"

"That you were following me? Yup," said Carlos. "Well, I didn't exactly see you following me, but I knew the only person who knew about this place was you. After all, I did take you here."

"I remember that day," said Evie. "You saved me from your mother's closet and then you took me here." She looks up and sees a hole in the roof. She remembered when Carlos' device blasted a hole through the roof and punched a hole in the barrier for a short time.

"Do you ever wonder what would've happened if we never met?" asked Carlos, staring at the hole as well.

"What do you mean?" asked Evie, confused by the question.

"I mean, you and me..." Carlos paused, trying to think of the right words to say. "We're not exactly compatible."

"And what makes you think that?" asked Evie.

"C'mon, look at us," said Carlos, gesturing to both of themselves. "Before Auradon, I was just a nerd who everyone treats like a punching bag. The worst I could do is swipe an apple and trip someone over. And you, you were a fashion-crazed narcissist, no offense, who doesn't mind ruffling anyone's feathers... well, unless it's Mal's."

"Your point?" asked Evie.

"Why did you want to be friend with me?" asked Carlos. "Every day since the day we met, I always wondered why you even bothered to talked to me, allowed yourself to get close to me."

"This place is obviously bringing some bad memories," said Evie. "You can't stay here, Carlos. Let's get back to the castle..."

"Evie," interrupted Carlos. "Please, tell me. I just want to know. Yes, being back here is bringing back a lot of memories, but not all of them were bad. I had you, and I always wondered how that could've happened."

Evie saw the curiosity on Carlos' face. Clearly, he wasn't going to drop this any time soon.

She decided to give him an answer, but first, she thought her words carefully. "You and I both know we had good inside ourselves, right? That goodness is allowed me to see you as more than just a boy with a big brain and bruises on his skin. I saw a lonely boy who just wanted to be free of the pain he suffers every day. When you told me that you get beat up and pushed around, I felt sympathy for you. Something inside was nagging me to get close to you, maybe because deep inside me, I wanted to help you."

"Every time I meet someone knew, when I tell them what I am to everyone who knows me, they just hop on the pick-on-Carlos train," said Carlos. "But you didn't."

"Like I said, it was the goodness inside me," said Evie. "When you showed me your room, told me how your mom treated you, I felt even more bad for you. I know Cruella De Vil isn't supposed to be a saint, but what she's done to you, I couldn't just laugh at your pain like a real villain kid would do. I had to be there for you."

"And then you gave me the pillow," said Carlos, remembering a conversation they had in his mother's dressing room.

"I didn't want to admit it before because I thought showing compassion would make me a laughing stock," said Evie. "But now that I learned that I don't have to be evil if I didn't want to, I think I can finally admit that... I did care. I cared about you. No boy should suffer like that every night, so I wanted you to be comfortable."

Carlos suddenly felt the same burning feeling on his face that he felt the day he and Evie were talking about pillows. Evie notices that he was turning red and giggles uncontrollably.

"W-Wh-What's so f-funny?" asked Carlos, scratching the back of his head.

"Nothing," lied Evie, continuing to giggle.

"I'm turning red, aren't I?" asked Carlos.

"What made you guess that?" asked Evie.

"Because you're blushing underneath the makeup," said Carlos.

Evie covers her left cheek in embarrassment. The burning sensation in her cheeks and the spark in her heart felt familiar to her. She then remembered that she felt that way when she was talking about giving him a pillow. How could a simple conversation about pillows trigger this kind of emotion within her?

"I never did thank you for the pillow," said Carlos. "It really helped me sleep at night."

"Well, you're welcome," said Evie with a smile.

Carlos turns around and saw his little device, the one that opened a hole in the barrier. He sits down next to it and started fiddling with the wires. Evie can tell that he wasn't trying to fix it. He was just reminiscing.

"Why is this bothering you so much?" asked Evie. "And don't just say because you were confused about why someone like me was willing to be friends with someone like you, no offense."

Carlos stands up and walks towards Evie.

"Do you think we could've been friends no matter what?" asked Carlos. "I mean, I know Ben selected you, me, Mal, and Jay to come to Auradon because we were the ones suffering the most here on the Isle, but... what if we never knew each other before then? Do you think we'd still become friends?"

Evie puts her hand on Carlos' hair and gently pets him like a dog. Her hand slid down from his hair and to his cheek.

"I would never think about that," said Evie. "But I like to think... yes... I believe we would still be friends."

"Even after the four of us became one gang, Mal and Jay still treated me like dirt, but you were always there for me," said Carlos. "I just hate to wonder what would've happened if the four of us never united... if the two of us never became friends."

Evie puts her other hand on Carlos' other cheek and pulls him closer.

"Don't ever think like that," said Evie. "That's the past. This is the present. We're best friends, Carlos, and nothing is going to change that.

"You always know how to make me feel better," said Carlos, smiling again.

 **Evie**

 _If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,  
I'll sail the world to find you  
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,  
I'll be the light to guide you_

Evie started to dance, and Carlos felt the need to start dancing as well. They started started shaking their shoulders and moving up and down in unison.

 **Evie**

 _We find out what we're made of  
When we are called to help our friends in need  
_

 _You can count on me, like 1, 2, 3_  
 _I'll be there_  
 _And I know when I need it_  
 _I can count on you, like 4, 3, 2_  
 _You'll be there_

 _'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_  
 _Oh, oh, yeah, yeah_

Evie and Carlos started waddling like ducks, smiling at each other as they did.

 **Evie**

 _If you're tossin' and you're turnin'  
And you just can't fall asleep,_  
 _I'll sing a song beside you_  
 _And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me,_  
 _Every day I will remind you_

 **Carlos**

 _Oh_

 **Evie/Carlos**

 _We find out what we're made of_  
 _When we are called to help our friends in need_

Evie grabs Carlos' hand and twirls herself closer to him. The two find themselves in a ballroom dancing position. They blushed as they stared at each other's eyes, but they didn't stop dancing.

 **Evie/Carlos**

 _You can count on me, like 1, 2, 3_  
 _I'll be there_  
 _And I know when I need it_  
 _I can count on you, like 4, 3, 2_  
 _You'll be there_  
 _'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_  
 _Oh, oh, yeah, yeah_

 **Evie**

 _You'll always have my shoulder when you cry_

Carlos rests his head on Evie's shoulder. Evie gently pats him in the back of his hair while also leaning on his head.

 **Evie**

 _I'll never let go, never say goodbye  
You know..._

They pulled away from each other, but held each other's hands, pulling each other back.

 **Evie/Carlos**

 _You can count on me, like 1, 2, 3_  
 _I'll be there_  
 _And I know when I need it_  
 _I can count on you, like 4, 3, 2_  
 _You'll be there_  
 _'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_  
 _Oh, oh_

 **Carlos**

 _You can count on me 'cause I can count on you_

Evie and Carlos' held both each other's hands and pulled the other closer for a hug. They hugged each other tightly, expressing how much they care for one another. Carlos can feel his eyes watering, but he didn't care. He was happy that Evie would always be there for him.

"Have I ever told you that you have an amazing voice?" asked Carlos.

"Have I ever told you that _you_ have an amazing voice?" asked Evie.

The two just laughed together. They catch themselves still holding each other's hands, but they didn't care. They didn't want to let each other go. They leaned closer until their foreheads pressed against each other. They closed their eyes as they let the moment sooth their hearts. They tightened their grip on each other's hands, feeling as if if they let go, they would lost one another.

"Thank you," said Carlos.

"For what?" asked Evie.

"For making me believe that I can always count on you to be my friend," said Carlos.

"In that case, thank you, too," said Evie.

"For...?" asked Carlos.

"Making me believe that I can always count on you to count on me," said Evie.

"I'm so glad that I met you," said Carlos.

"And me you," said Evie.

They just stared at each other and smiled. Their hands remained locked onto each other's. After a long, awkward silence, Carlos speaks.

"We should probably head back before Mal or Jay find out we're gone," he said.

"Really? Because I don't mind staying here longer," said Evie.

"You do know remember that Ben is in grave danger, right?" reminded Carlos.

"I know," said Evie. "Maybe another time."

"I thought you didn't want to stay here long," said Carlos.

"I didn't say that I didn't want to stay here long with _you_ ," said Evie.

Carlos' smile grew wider after he heard those words. Evie puts her arms around the boy and pulls him closer for another hug. She wanted to show him how much he meant to her. Carlos closed his eyes and rests his head on his friend's shoulder, allowing himself to feel safe in her arms.

 **Writing this filled me with so much emotion. I hope that it did the same for you. If you do choose to leave a review, let me know what you honestly think about this. If you loved it, don't hesitate to favorite this.**

 **"Count on Me" by Bruno Mars**


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